Hollyleaf's Tale
by Krisadilli
Summary: When Hollyleaf ran into the tunnels, her family didn't know what happened to her. Finding her way out of the tunnels was one thing; going back to her family? Well that was quite another.


A black she-cat was floating in darkness. Every so often, she would catch snatches of conversation, along with a scent and pelt color. The very first conversation she heard was between a brown tabby tom with amber eyes and a dark gray tom. The scent smelled of wind and rabbits and speed.  
"Are you sure this is what you want?" the tabby tom asked from on top of a huge boulder. "You want to leave WindClan to join ThunderClan?"  
The dark gray tom nodded. "Yes, Onestar," he meowed. "I don't feel at home here anymore. Nightcloud knows that I never loved her, and Breezepelt has a family of his own now, with Heathertail expecting his kits. I'll miss my parents and my friends, but I'll see them at Gatherings, right?" A gray tom with black front paws and amber eyes nodded, and his apprentice, the tortoiseshell sitting next to him gazed at the dark gray tom with sadness in her blue eyes.  
"Crowfeather, please," the gray she-cat sitting next to Onestar pleaded. "You're the only one of my kits that survived. I don't want to loose you again, and neither does your father." She looked at he mate, a tabby tom with a torn ear. "Right, Tornear?"  
Tornear nodded and meowed, "Crowfeather, no matter what Ashfoot and I have said, we still love you. We don't want you to go, but we will let you –" Ashfoot glared in shock at Tornear "– because we just want you to be happy, and it's obvious that since the Gathering, when Hollyleaf made her Big Announcement, you've been moping around. Sure, you hunted well, and you did your warrior duties well, but you didn't share tongues with Nightcloud or Breezepelt anymore; you only shared tongues with Ashfoot, Emberfoot, Sunpaw, or me." Tornear glanced at the gray tom with black paws, who was called Emberfoot, and the tortoiseshell apprentice who was called Sunpaw. "If you really, truly, want to join ThunderClan, we won't stop you." Tornear stepped forward and touched noses with his only son.  
Ashfoot stared in dismay at her mate and son. "Tornear, I thought you of all cats would back me up! You're just throwing our only kit out! Even after what happened to Eaglepaw!" Ashfoot choked back a sob.  
Crowfeather padded up to his mother and touched noses with her. "Don't worry, Ashfoot, we'll see each other at Gatherings…" The voices of the WindClan cats faded, and the black she-cat found herself alone floating again in darkness.  
The she-cat felt as if she should know that tom called Crowfeather. She felt as if he was and important part of her life, but she couldn't quite place him.

After a while, she heard a different set of voices. She smelled cats, who smelled of oak trees, squirrels, and strength. She felt as if she should know all these cats, but she couldn't remember who they were. The cats she was focused on were: a tabby and white she-cat with amber eyes, a dark gray tom with amber eyes who she realized was Crowfeather, a heavily pregnant tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, a cream tom with blue eyes, a mildly pregnant white she-cat with blue eyes, and a golden tabby tom with amber eyes.  
A gray tabby tom with blue eyes padded up to the group. "Good morning, everybody!" the tom meowed this quite cheerfully. "How are we today, Poppyfrost?"  
The tortoiseshell she-cat was lying on her side in a patch of sunlight, sharing tongues with her mate, who was the cream tom. "They're getting pretty restless," Poppyfrost winced as a kit kicked her. "But, other than that, we're doing just fine!" Her mate licked her ear affectionately.  
"What about you, Icecloud? A moon of being a warrior and you're already expecting kits," the gray tabby tom purred cheerfully. The golden tom nudged the gray tabby gently.  
"Be nice when you're talking to my mate, Jayfeather," warned the golden tabby good-naturedly. "You may be the ThunderClan medicine cat, and my brother, but don't forget that I'm bigger than you!"  
Jayfeather flicked his brother's nose with his tail. "You wouldn't _dare_ attack a blind cat, Lionblaze. A senior warrior wouldn't be that cruel." Jayfeather hissed playfully, then turned back to the white she-cat. "Well, Icecloud? How're you doing?"  
Icecloud gave her belly a couple of quick licks. "They move around, but they're not kicking quite yet, thank StarClan!" The tabby she-cat purred indulgently as Crowfeather groomed her back.  
"Leafpool, did you hear that Sandstorm will have a new litter of kits?" the cream tom asked the tabby she-cat.  
Leafpool looked at the tom. "What?" she turned to to look incredulously at Jayfeather. "My mother...your _grandmother_... is expecting **kits**? And you didn't _tell_ me? Why?" Crowfeather put his tail gently across her back, trying to soothe her.  
Jayfeather glared at the cream tom, like he could actually see. "Nice going, Berrynose," he growled, and Berrynose looked down at his paws, ashamed. Jayfeather turned to his mother and mewed, "Sandstorm didn't want anyone to know until she tells Firestar. The only way Berrynose knows is because he was in the medicine den complaining of a thorn when Sandstorm came in and told me. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone," Jayfeather hissed through his teeth at Berrynose. "And I didn't tell you because one: she told me that she wanted to be the one to tell the Clan, and two: you may be my 'Mama,' but you're no longer my mentor and I don't need to tell you everything." Jayfeather lashed his tail impatiently.  
Suddenly, a little gray she-kit with green eyes and a gray tom with many dark gray stripes and green eyes padded up to the group.  
"Lionblaze, do you know where Whitewing is?" the tabby tom asked his mentor. "Dovekit can't find her and she needs to ask her something."  
"I think she's out hunting with Birchfall and Brightheart, Bumblepaw," Crowfeather meowed. Dovekit looked down at her paws uncomfortably as the adults looked down at her. "What did you need to ask her, Dovey?"  
Poppyfrost whispered to Icecloud: "I think Dovey is the nickname Birchfall thought of!"  
"Yeah," Icecloud agreed, "but now the entire Clan calls her it!" The two she-cats purred in amusement.  
Dovekit didn't reply to Crowfeather's question and kept her eyes on her paws.  
"Dovey?" Poppyfrost looked at her friend's oldest daughter. "What's wrong?" She heaved herself up to her paws and padded over to the little kit. She swept Dovekit up against her belly with her tail. The little she-kit seemed scared about something.  
"Nothing's wrong, exactly," Dovekit squeaked. She turned her pale green eyes onto the ThunderClan medicine cat and his brother. "I just have a feeling that something bad's gonna happen. Do any of you know a black, fluffy she-cat with bright green eyes?"  
All the adults glanced at each other, puzzled. Then Crowfeather glanced at his sons and meowed: "That's our...I mean, Leafpool's and my daughter, Hollyleaf. She...died...three sunrises after you were born."  
"What about Hollyleaf, Dovey?" Jayfeather stared intently at the little gray kit, almost as if he could see her.  
"Well..." Dovekit paused, and then went on hurriedly: "I think she's gonna come back, and she's gonna be mates with Sol, and they will destroy the Clans together." She gazed up at the adults.  
Suddenly, all the adults, except for Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and their parents, started reassuring Dovekit in cheerful voices that Hollyleaf wouldn't come back.  
_But they're wrong,_ the black she-cat thought as the ThunderClan cats vanished. _I_ will _come back, just as soon as I get out of these wretched tunnels!_

"Is she okay?" the black she-cat heard a she-cat ask, worriedly.  
"She will be," a soothing tom's voice meowed. Then, quieter: "You _have_ to be okay, Hollyleaf." At the sound of her name, Hollyleaf opened her eyes and saw the cat who had walked in her dreams since she ran into the tunnels.  
"Sol..." she murmured hoarsely, and the tortoiseshell, white, and black tom's pale amber eyes lit up with relief. Hollyleaf slowly sat up, wincing in pain, and coughed harshly.  
"Are you okay, Hollyleaf?" the tabby she-cat with blue eyes, pressed. She smelled of those WindClan cats Hollyleaf had dreamed about, but she couldn't remember which cat the tabby was.  
"Who...who are you?" Hollyleaf asked the tabby. The tabby and Sol exchanged a panicked glance.  
"I'm Heathertail," the tabby began. "I was Crowfeather's...uh, your father's apprentice while he lived in WindClan."  
Hollyleaf started to remember. "Crowfeather's my father, so that means that Leafpool is my mother, and Jayfeather and Lionblaze are my brothers, right? but then, aren't you my sister-in-law? After all, Breezepelt's my half-brother, and you're Breezepelt's mate." Hollyleaf looked at Heathertail, puzzled by her expression. It looked sort of like... _fear._  
Heathertail glanced over her shoulder warily, and whispered, "Yeah, that's right. _Breezepelt's_ my mate, not anyone else's." After she meowed this, Heathertail looked quite relieved.  
Hollyleaf gazed at Sol, basking in the glow of his eyes. "What?" she asked him when she realized that she was looking at her warily as well as warmly.  
"It's just..." Sol paused, took a deep breath, and continued: "You were extremely angry when you found out that your mother was the ThunderClan medicine cat, and your father was a WindClan warrior. I was wondering why you're not angry anymore."  
"Well, I'm fine with it now because they are now both loyal ThunderClan warriors. They are no longer in separate Clans, and my mother is no longer the ThunderClan medicine cat; Jayfeather is. Why? Did you think I would go crazy like last time?" She nudged the cat that she was in love with playfully. Sol grinned at her and licked her cheek.  
Heathertail looked around at the forest. "Hollyleaf, do you know where we are?"  
Hollyleaf sniffed at some ferns. "We're just past ThunderClan's territory." She remembered something. "How did you two find me? I ran into the tunnels on ThunderClan's territory, but now I'm outside of it. What happened?"  
Sol pressed against Hollyleaf as he explained: "After you ran into the tunnels on your territory, you were hit on the head by a falling rock when the tunnel collapsed. I think that you didn't know where you were going, and you ran out of the tunnels here. You were unconscious for at least two days, because Heathertail found you two sunrises ago, and she came to find me to help you. You..." here, his voice broke "you were so very close to death. If Heathertail hadn't found you when she did, you would have...died." Hollyleaf realized that Sol was shaking with grief, as if he could feel her cold, lifeless pelt and smell her deathscent. She turned to him and pressed her nose against his cheek, trying to comfort him. Soon, he regained his ability to speak calmly and her faced Hollyleaf and looked deep into her eyes. "It was then, Hollyleaf, when I thought that you were going to die, despite my best efforts, that I realized something..."  
Sol paused, and then mewed softly, "I love you Hollyleaf. I have been in love with you since I first saw you. And, i need to know...do you feel the same way?"  
Hollyleaf gasped and Sol looked up in alarm. "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually." Hollyleaf gazed at Sol, and meowed the words that she had been dying to meow: "I'm in love with you too, Sol. I want to be with you until the day I die and join StarClan." In a quieter voice, she murmured: "I love you...will you be my mate?"  
Sol stared desperately into Hollyleaf's eyes, apparently searching for trickery. When he found none, his eyes blazed with extreme joy and happiness. Hollyleaf realized that she felt that same extreme joy and happiness, which grew stronger when she heard Sol purr: "Yes, Hollyleaf, I will be your mate..."

A moon later, Hollyleaf and Sol were living in an abandoned fox den a little ways away from the ThunderClan border. It was the full moon, and Hollyleaf was watching the moon while waiting for Sol to come back from hunting. He had insisted that she stayed home and rest so that she could get better. He told her that she was still ill from being inside the tunnels and from being knocked out by a rock. What he _didn't_ know was that Hollyleaf was expecting his kits.  
Hollyleaf found out that she was having kits right before Sol went hunting. She decided to wait until he got back before she told him the big news. She wasn't showing yet; it was too early.  
Gazing at the moon, she wondered if her brother's kits were born yet, if Icecloud had gone to the Gathering or not, and if Jayfeather was doing okay. She missed her mother, and her foster father, and her Clan; she even missed Spiderleg, who she never had gotten on well with. She missed Cinderheart telling her wise stuff, and gossiping with Poppyfrost. She even missed her father, and she wanted to go back to ThunderClan. But she knew that she could never leave Sol; she loved him way too much, maybe even more than her own brothers. She wondered if her mother felt like this when she had to leave Crowfeather in WindClan after the Badger Attack: torn between the two things she loved most, her Clan and her mate.  
The moon had risen halfway into the sky by the time Sol came back with prey. He was carrying a large rabbit and a couple of mice.  
"Hollyleaf!" Sol greeted her, his voice muffled by the prey. He ran up to her, set the prey down, and touched noses with her, tenderly. "How are you feeling?" He looked at her with such tenderness that Hollyleaf knew that he would be thrilled with her news.  
"I'm doing well, especially since..." she paused for dramatic effect.  
"What?" Sol flicked her with his tail, puzzled.  
"I'm expecting kits!" Hollyleaf purred.  
Sol's tail kinked over his head with joy. "That's wonderful! They're going to be beautiful, just like you." Hollyleaf purred with delight and Sol rubbed his muzzle against her cheek.

That night, the pair curled up together in the den. Hollyleaf slept peacefully for the first time since the tunnels.  
Suddenly, she woke abruptly. She realized that Sol was not next to her.  
"Sol?" Hollyleaf whispered, her eyes wide with fear. She crept out of the den and gasped.  
Sol was lying in the dirt, his life-blood draining out of him. Standing over him was a huge, brown, badger-like creature. The brown badger-thing roared at Hollyleaf, warning her to keep away from its kill.  
Hollyleaf puffed up to twice her size and hissed menacingly at the badger-thing. She was about to leap on it when Sol lifted his head.  
"Holly......leaf," he moaned.  
Hollyleaf dashed over to her dying mate and buried her nose in his fur. "Sol! Please don't leave me!" she wailed. She felt her heart breaking.  
"Holly......leaf, I...love...you.....so...much, but...you...need to.....................go. We......will see......each.... other......again. The kits.......need....you." Sol's breathing sped up, and then suddenly he was silent, forever.  
No...no, Sol...SOL!" Hollyleaf screamed. She pushed her nose into his neck fur, breathing in his sweet scent for the last time.  
The badger-thing roared again, impatiently.  
"Okay, okay!" Hollyleaf yowled at it. "I'm going!" Hollyleaf padded away from the badger-thing devouring her mate. _I guess I'm going to ThunderClan after all,_ Hollyleaf thought, dryly. _How bittersweet._

Hollyleaf crossed the ThunderClan border and padded wearily towards the camp. It had been five sunrises since Sol died, and she still felt the pain in every step. All she could think about were his last look at her, and her unborn kits. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't know until too late that she was surrounded by the ThunderClan dawn patrol.  
"What do you want, she-cat?" an aggressive voice growled. She kept her eyes down, but she recognized Toadkit's voice, although it was lower.  
"Well?" This time, a she-cat's voice. She recognized Rosekit's, but it was more mature, like her brother's.  
"Toadsplash, Rosepetal, back off!" the deep voice of Graystripe sounded. "Daisyfrost, Blossompaw, go back and warn Firestar and Brambleclw that there is an intruder. Silverbrook, and Spiderleg, stay with me."  
Hollyleaf kept her eyes and tail down, and her ears flat against her head, trying to look non-threatening. She made her fur lie flat.  
"Wait a second..." Spiderleg padded up close to Hollyleaf and circled her, sniffing deeply. "I _know_ this cat..."  
"Spiderlef...?" Rosepetal asked her father softly.  
"What do you mean, you _know_ this cat?" Toadsplash growled at his father. "I don't recognize her at all!"  
"Well, I wouldn't expect you to," Spiderleg snapped. "She 'died' before you were apprenticed."  
"Wha...?" Toadsplash sounded confused.  
"Hollyleaf? Is that you?" Rosepetal meowed, padding up to the cat she had once looked up to.  
Hollyleaf raised her eyes and looked around at the patrol. She noticed that Millie was there, and she realized that Millie must have taken the name Sliverbrook, and Daisy must have taken the name Daisyfrost. She nodded at Rosepetal's question, and looked at Spiderleg.  
"Of course, Hollyleaf's scent has changed, because she went into the tunnels," Spiderleg muttered, avoiding Hollyleaf's gaze.  
"Wait!" Silverbrook sniffed Hollyleaf's pelt. "Are you...?" Hollyleaf nodded. "Who's the father?"  
"You're **pregnant**?" Toadsplash yelped. Rosepetal cuffed her brother over the ear, hard.  
"don't be rude! She's been gone for over six moons If she wants to tell us who the father is, then she will, in her own time," Rosepetal meowed.  
"Come on, Hollyleaf, let's bring you to Firestar," Graystripe meowed gently.  
"Your parents will be thrilled that you're alive; same with your brothers," Silverbrook purred. "Oh, and guess what! Lionblaze has four kits! His mate's Icecloud."  
"That's amazing," Hollyleaf murmured. As the patrol padded back to camp, she hung her head. She was still so consumed with grief, and she was surprised that no one noticed.  
But, apparently, someone _did_ notice. "Are you okay, Hollyleaf?" Spiderleg asked the black she-cat.  
Hollyleaf shook her head.  
"What's wrong?"  
"My...mate died five sunrises ago, by a badger-thing," Hollyleaf told Spiderleg. Her voice broke as she continued: "I loved him more then my own brothers, Spiderleg, and he was **eaten!**"  
Spiderleg awkwardly tried to comfort Hollyleaf by placing his tail on her shoulder. "I'm...sorry to hear that, Hollyleaf," Spiderleg murmured.

When they arrive at the camp, Firestar and Brambleclaw were sitting beneath the Highledge. Hollyleaf was surprised to see how old and gaunt Firestar looked. When they spotted the patrol, Brambleclaw got to his paws and padded up to them.  
"Why have you brought the intrud..." Brambleclaw trailed off as he was who it was. _"Hollyleaf?"_ he meowed incredulously. He sniffed his foster daughter all over. "You...you _died!_ You ran into the tunnels and then the tunnels collapsed. How did you survive?"  
Hollyleaf looked at her paws and didn't answer.  
Suddenly, she heard five voices cry: "HOLLYLEAF!" She looked up and saw her mother, father, aunt, and brothers running towards her. Leafpool reached her first and paused, clearly remembering the last time they had spoken.  
Hollyleaf touched noses with her mother and murmured, "I'm so sorry I said those things, Mama. I was angry, and selfish, and too obsessed with the warrior code to understand why you did what you did. But I understand now, and I understand the pain you went through when you left Father in WindClan. I'm sorry," she repeated.  
Leafpool gazed at her only daughter, and then licked Hollyleaf's nose, like she had when Hollyleaf was first born. "You don't know how much it means to me to have you back, Hollyleaf. You know I love you, right?"  
"Yes."  
Crowfeather looked at his daughter with love for the first time ever. Hollyleaf purred and rubbed her head underneath his chin. He licked her head and murmured, "When I heard that my only daughter died, I was devastated. I would never have the relationship that Firestar has with Leafpool and Squirrelflight. But now, I can, if you want."  
"I do want."  
Squirrelflight gazed at her niece. "I am proud to call you my niece, Hollyleaf. You came back when no one thought you would." Squirrelflight licked Hollyleaf's ear.  
Jayfeather and Lionblaze shared a look with Leafpool and Crowfeather that Hollyleaf couldn't place. Then Lionblaze padded up to his sister and meowed, "Congrats, you're an aunt, little sister!" He licked her cheek and backed away to let Jayfeather greet their sister.  
Jayfeather looked at his sister and mewed, "I would have gone in after you, but Lionblaze wouldn't let me. Now, I'm glad I didn't, because now I'm going to be uncle to _both_ littermates' kits. Welcome back, big sister." Jayfeather licked her forehead and gazed sightlessly into her eyes.  
"What?" her entire family yowled. "You're pregnant? With whose kits?"  
"With the same cat who saved my life, a – " she decided to tell them half of Sol's pelt color – "brown and white tom with pale amber eyes. He was a loner, but then he was killed by a brown badger-thing." She tried not to think about Sol, in case Jayfeather was reading her mind. She mewed, tiredly, "May I sleep in Graystripe and Silverbrook's old den? I'm not used to a lot of cats at the moment."  
Brambleclaw looked at his niece. "Sure, I'm sure Firestar will take you back into the Clan. After all, you were an honorable warrior before; I don't see why you can't be an honorable warrior again. Lionblaze, Jayfeather, would you two like to help your sister?"  
"Sure!" the toms meowed excitedly.  
As the three padded to Graystripe's old den, Hollyleaf asked, "So, what did you name your kits?"  
"We have a light brown tabby-and-white she-cat with blue eyes who we've named Eaglekit; a black tom with white toes and turquoise eyes whose name is Hobokit; a white she-cat with black stripes and hazel eyes whose name is Zebrakit; and a pale ginger tom with gray eyes who we've called Stormkit. Actually, we had one more kit, who we named Brindlekit, after Icecloud's dead grandmother. Brindlekit was a miniature Icecloud, but she was stillborn."  
"Then why did you name her?" Hollyleaf asked, puzzled.  
"**I** didn't name her; Icecloud did. She couldn't bear the thought of burying her kit without a name," Lionblaze explained.  
"Oh…got it," Hollyleaf mewed, yawning widely.  
When they reached the grassy den, Hollyleaf clawed together a nest and curled up on it and closed her eyes. She was almost asleep when Jayfeather murmured, "Hollyleaf, was you're mate Sol?" She nodded sleepily, and then looked up.  
"You can **NOT** tell anyone, understand?"  
"We won't," Lionblaze and Jayfeather promised, and Hollyleaf fell asleep.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Brambleclaw's voice yowled.  
Hollyleaf sat bolt upright in the grassy den. She looked up and saw that it was sunhigh. She groomed herself, being gentle around her not-yet-swollen belly, and then padded into the clearing. She sat down just behind the last cat in the crowd, which happened to be Ferncloud. She noticed Firestar at the top of the ledge, and she realized that he was… well, _old. _  
Brambleclaw beckoned for Hollyleaf to come forward. Hollyleaf padded self-consciously through the crowd, looking for hostile glares. But there were none, only friendly gazes and murmurs. She noticed Cinderheart, who was sitting with Hazeltail, Mousewhisker, and Sorreltail. Cinderheart blinked in delight at Hollyleaf, and Hollyleaf relaxed.  
She stood in front of the Highledge as Brambleclaw helped Firestar down from the ledge.  
Firestar gazed at his granddaughter. "Hollyleaf," he began. "Is it your wish to rejoin the Clan after running into the tunnels?"  
"It is," Hollyleaf meowed. She could feel her tail trembling, and she held it still.  
"Very well. We welcome you back into the Clan as a full warrior until you move into the nursery." Firestar padded up to her and touched his nose to her forehead. He murmured, so that only she could hear, "Your mother and father were devastated when you 'died.' So was I. I had lost my only granddaughter, and an amazing warrior. Stay with us this time, Hollyleaf."  
He stepped back and started chanting her name. "Hollyleaf! Hollyleaf!" The Clan joined in. Hollyleaf turned around and gazed at her Clan. She knew that this was where she belonged; not with Sol; not as a rogue or loner.  
Lionblaze, Berrynose, and Dovekit padded up to Hollyleaf.  
"Do you want to see the kits, Hollyleaf?" Berrynose asked.  
"Sure!" Hollyleaf mewed, excited at seeing kits. Then she remembered something. "How old are the kits?"  
"Mine are about a moon and a half, and Lionblaze's are, what, three days old?" Berrynose glanced at Lionblaze, and Lionblaze nodded.  
"Wow…" Hollyleaf murmured as the four cats padded towards the nursery. She turned to Dovekit. "So, Dovey, you're an apprentice now, right?"  
Dovepaw nodded. "But…how did you know my nickname?"  
"Oh…just a lucky guess," Hollyleaf mewed evasively. "Ooh! They're so cute!" Hollyleaf squealed over Icecloud's and Poppyfrost's kits.  
Poppyfrost had three kits, two toms and a she-cat. One tom was cream, like his father. The other tom was tortoiseshell, like his mother. The she-cat was a pale golden-brown color.  
"The cream tom with Smokekit, after Berrynose's father, the tortoiseshell is Blazekit, because he has a blaze of white on his forehead, and the she-cat is Honeykit…after Honeyfern," Poppyfrost explained. The three kits looked up at Hollyleaf. Smokekit had his mother's green eyes, Blazekit had turquoise eyes, and Honeykit had the exact same shade of blue Honeyfern's eyes had been.  
Hollyleaf bent down and sniffed Honeykit. Honeykit squeaked, "Who you? Smell diffwent."  
"I'm Hollyleaf," she explained. "I went away for a while, but now I'm back where I belong."  
"Kay, kay!" Honeykit squeaked. "Mama? Can take baby kits out?"  
"Pwease?" her brothers joined in, pleading.  
Poppyfrost glanced at Icecloud, shrugged, and mewed: "Sure, why not?"  
"YAY!" The seven kits squealed, excitedly. Zebrakit and Honeykit were the first out of the nursery, with Eaglekit and Blazekit just behind. The rest of the tom-kits followed, leaving their parents, Dovepaw, and Hollyleaf to follow more slowly out of the den.

Hollyleaf went on patrol for the first time since getting back to ThunderClan. Lionblaze was leading it, with Mousewhisker and Leafpool. Hollyleaf was thrilled that she was chosen for this patrol. As they reached the ShadowClan border, Hollyleaf noticed a young ShadowClan apprentice.  
"Wildpaw!" Lionblaze snapped at the young apprentice. "What are you doing here?"  
Wildpaw looked at her paws, embarrassed. "Tawnypelt sent me to ask for Jayfeather's help," she muttered.  
"Why would your mentor send you, and not Blackstar?" Leafpool asked, puzzled.  
Wildpaw glared at the former medicine cat. "Because he's the on who's sick, mouse-brain!" she hissed.  
Mousewhisker looked at Lionblaze. "What do you want to do?"  
"Firestar will want to help," Lionblaze meowed. "Wildpaw, come back to camp with us and tell Firestar."

Hollyleaf followed her brother as he led the way back to camp. She watched her aunt's--no, her aunt-_in-law_'s apprentice as Wildpaw twitched her whiskers in disgust. Hollyleaf could almost here her thoughts...  
_How can ThunderClan stand to live in such a cramped forest? It's too hard to move around! _  
Hollyleaf purred in amusement, and the patrol turned and looked at her. She stopped, and just purred quietly to herself.  
Wildpaw glared at Hollyleaf. "What are **you** looking at, half-clan?" she hissed.  
Hollyleaf felt stunned. She had never been called half-clan before, and she didn't like it. "At least _I'm_ proud of my parents, which is more than you can say!" she growled harshly at the small apprentice. Wildpaw looked shocked, and then flicked her tail in annoyance at showing emotion.  
Lionblaze stopped abruptly and turned around. "Hollyleaf, stop arguing with an apprentice; it's unbecoming. Wildpaw, you are on a rival Clan's territory; it is unwise to antagonize a pregnant queen of that rival Clan."  
Wildpaw meowed cheekily, "I thought she was _proud_ of being half-clan!"  
Mousewhisker cuffed the apprentice over the ear. "Apprentices are trained to listen to warriors, no matter from what Clan. You are no exception!" Wildpaw glared with hatred at Mousewhisker.  
Hollyleaf rolled her eyes and padded after her brother as he continued on to the camp. _That cat is really intelligent, but she needs to learn NOT to anger rival Clans ON that Clan's territory,_ she thought in amusement.

After a moon, the Clans had changed very much. RiverClan was led by Mistystar, with her son Reedwhisker as deputy, and Mothwing had passed on, leaving Willowshine by herself as medicine cat. ShadowClan's leader was now Russetstar, with Tawnypelt deputy, and her son Flamepelt as medicine cat. Littlecloud had retired due to failing eyesight and hearing. WindClan was lead by Ashstar, and the deputy was Emberfoot. The WindClan medicine cat was Kestrelwing, since Barkface had died. ThunderClan was now led by Lionstar, as both Brambleclaw and Firestar had died within days of each other, Brambleclaw first. Wildpaw had become Wildshadow, Bumblepaw became Bumblestripe, Briarpaw became Briarflower, Blossompaw became Blossomleaf, and Sunpaw from WindClan became Sunspot.

One clear night, Hollyleaf felt great pains in her belly. She realized what was happening and she yowled for Jayfeather. Jayfeather had ran into the nursery, followed by Mousewhisker and Leafpool. Hollyleaf had fallen in love with Mousewhisker about a half-moon ago, and they had agreed that the kits would know who their biological father was, but they would consider Mousewhisker as their true father.  
As Hollyleaf continued into her labor, she heard Sol's voice: _Be strong for our kits, Hollyleaf; they need you..._  
Hollyleaf pushed with all her might, and her first kit came out; it was a little tom. As the rest of her kits came, she considered names for the little kits. She wanted Mousewhisker to name a few.  
"You're done," Jayfeather murmured to his sister. "Two toms, and two she-cats. Congratulations, sister." He licked her ear as he stepped back to let Mousewhisker near the kits.  
One tom was a miniature Sol, but his eyes would later be a brilliant blue. The couple named him Patchkit.  
The other tom was a flame-colored tom, not unlike Firestar. He would later have the exact same shade of green that Hollyleaf's eyes were. The couple decided to name him Infernokit.  
The larger of the she-kits was jet black, like Hollyleaf, except that her front left paw was white. She would later have ice-blue eyes. Hollyleaf wanted to name her Ravenkit, and so they did.  
The final kit was the smallest kit. She was an unusually small tortoiseshell she-cat. She would later have beautiful amber eyes. She looked remarkably like Spottedleaf. Mousewhisker wanted to name her Poolkit, and so her name was Poolkit.  
Hollyleaf gazed at her little kits, and a vision of their future flashed before her eyes......

Infernokit grew to be the most courageous, and respected cat in the Clan. His name was Infernofire, after his great-grandfather.

Patchkit became Patchpool, and he was one of LeopardClan's medicine cats.

Ravenkit became Ravenflower. She was one of the five deputies of LeopardClan, and she was very kind.

Poolkit became Poolheart, and then, later, Poolstar. She united the Clans into LeopardClan, with Sunstar, Rainstar, Wildstar, and Copperstar as co-leaders. She was a hero.

Hollyleaf came back to the present and smiled. She knew her kits would be okay...


End file.
